Above Suspicion

• Share a time when you got into trouble for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

• Do Christians need to be concerned about what others think of them? Why or why not?

And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel … We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.
2 Corinthians 8:18,20-21

In these verses from 2 Corinthians, Paul and Titus are collecting a large offering. So that no one could ever accuse them of stealing the money or using it sinfully, Paul sent an unbiased person to help carry the offering.

Paul knew that he was being watched. He knew how important his reputation was among the different churches. He knew that people judged the gospel by his own behavior, so he took great pains to make sure that nothing dishonest could happen or even be said to happen.

Paul did not put himself in compromising situations. And neither should we. We can choose to go to a party where we know there will be drinking. We can try to justify it by not drinking anything, but we will be judged based on our proximity to sin.

While it might not seem fair, as Christians we must take pains to avoid situations that may lead others to question the reality of the gospel. We need to work to keep ourselves above suspicion.

PRAYER
Dear God, please help us guard our reputations and stay above suspicion. Please help us to make wise decisions. Amen.